lunes, 31 de marzo de 2014

HAD BETTER/HAD BETTER NOT

(taken from http://baladre.info/english/sedaviwebfront/hadbettergrammar.htm)

Ex: You'd better stay at home or you'll get wetYou'd better not do it, if you want to keep your job.
This structure is used to express that something is ADVISABLE (=aconsejable)
either in a positive or a negative sense and is similar in meaning to 'I think
you should'…

1. INTERROGATIVE reads as follows:Had I better stay or go ?

2 .NEGATIVE
always takes negative NOT and is then followed by bare infinitiveYou'd better not heat it much or it will go off ( 'Será mejor que no lo
calientes demasiado o se estropeará')

3. CONTRACTIONS:
always ….'D ( I'd….,You'd…., He'd……We'd…..)

WOULD('D )RATHER + BARE INFINITIVE +THAN

Ex. I'd rather fish than hunt.I'd rather not listen to your wordsI'd rather you didn't tell me how cold you were when you went skiing.This structure is used to express preference and takes the auxiliary WOULD
and a BARE INFINITIVE (infinitive without 'to')

1. INTERROGATIVE:What would you rather do, eat here or eat out ?

2. NEGATIVEI'd rather not say anything else or I will get very angry.

3. INTRODUCING A NEW SUBJECT.I'd rather you went accompanied than alone.I'd rather you didn't come home too late.

miércoles, 19 de marzo de 2014

YET FROM WOODWARDENGLISH.COM

Yet refers to an action that is expected in the future. It is not used in the past. To ask if something expected has happened. It is usually placed at the end of the sentence or question.

Are we there yet? (A typical question kids ask while taking car trips with their parents)

Is the report ready yet?

Hasn't your mother told you yet? We're moving to Alaska!

To say that something expected hasn't happened:

Mary can't go home yet, she hasn't finished her work.

They haven't paid me yet. (I was expecting to paid before now.)

My parents haven't kicked me out of their house yet.

Yet is occasionally used in affirmative sentences, giving the sentences a similar meaning as the use of still. Note that this is more formal and not common.

We have yet to hear the big news from Aunt Martha.
= We are still waiting to hear the big news from Aunt Martha.

Often, we use still and yet together to explain why an action is continuing.

I am still studying at the university because I haven’t graduated yet.

We still don’t know who will be our new boss. The owners haven’t told us yet.

I haven’t decided yet if I’m going to quit my job to go travel. I’m still thinking about it.

ALREADY

Already is used to refer to an action that happened sooner than expected.It is used in affirmative sentences in the present or past, but never future.

A: Ask Katie to send the article to her editor. B: She has already sent it.

I already know what I'm going to buy you for your birthday.

They've already seen "Spiderman 15" and really don't want to see it again.

Notice the placement of already in the examples below:

Is Mary already here? She must have driven very fast to get here before me.

How does he already have the answers to tomorrow's test?

Have they already obtained their visas?

In present tense sentences, it is placed between the subject and verb.
In present and present perfect questions, it comes immediately after the subject.
However, in present perfect sentences, the order is subject + have+ already + past participle.

If we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde Park.

If I had millions dollars, I'd give a lot to charity.

If there were no hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place.

If everyone had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease.

Note that after I /
he/ she /it we often use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was'.
(Some people think that 'were' is the only 'correct' form but other
people think 'was' is equally 'correct' .)

If she were happy in her job, she wouldn't be looking for another one.

If I lived in Japan, I'd have sushi every day.

If they were to enter our market, we'd have big problems.

Note the form 'If I were you' which is often used to give advice.

If I were you, I'd look for a new place to live.

If I were you, I'd go back to school and get more qualifications.

The Second Conditional is also used to talk about 'unlikely' situations.

If I went to China, I'd visit the Great Wall.

If I was the President, I'd reduce taxes.

If you were in my position, you'd understand.

Note that the choice
between the first and the second conditional is often a question of the
speaker's attitude rather than of facts. Compare these examples. Otto
thinks these things are possible, Peter doesn't.

Otto – If I win the lottery, I'll buy a big house.

Peter – If I won the lottery, I'd buy a big house.

Otto – If I get promoted, I'll throw a big party.

Peter – If I got promoted, I'd throw a big party.

Otto – If my team win the Cup, I'll buy champagne for everybody.

Peter – If my team won the Cup, I'd buy champagne for everybody.

Note that the 'If clause' can contain the past simple or the past continuous.

If I was still working in Brighton, I would commute by train.

If she were coming, she would be here by now.

If they were thinking of selling, I would want to buy.

Note that the main clause can contain 'would' 'could' or 'might.

If I had the chance to do it again, I would do it differently.

If we met up for lunch, we could go to that new restaurant.

If I spoke to him directly, I might be able to persuade him.

Also note that sometimes the 'if clause' is implied rather than spoken.

lunes, 17 de marzo de 2014

Saint Patrickwas a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of the island along with Saints Brigit and Columba.

The dates of Patrick's life cannot be fixed with certainty but, on a
widespread interpretation, he was active as a missionary in Ireland
during the second half of the fifth century. He is generally credited with being the first bishop of Armagh, primate of Ireland.

When he was about 16, he was captured from his home in Great Britain, and taken as a
slave to Ireland, where he lived for six years before escaping and returning
to his family. After becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and
western Ireland. In later life, he served as an ordained bishop, but
little is known about the places where he worked. By the seventh
century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of
Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day is observed on 17 March, the date of his death. It is celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday. In the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation; it is also a celebration of Ireland itself.

St. Patrick features in many stories in the Irish oral tradition and
there are many customs connected with his feast day. The folklorist
Jenny Butler
discusses how these traditions have been given new layers of meaning
over time while also becoming tied to Irish identity both in Ireland and
abroad. The symbolic resonance of the St. Patrick figure is complex and
multifaceted, stretching from that of Christianity’s arrival in Ireland
to an identity that encompasses everything Irish. In some portrayals,
the saint is symbolically synonymous with the Christian religion itself.
There is also evidence of a combination of indigenous religious
traditions with that of Christianity, which places St Patrick in the
wider framework of cultural hybridity.
Popular religious expression has this characteristic feature of merging
elements of culture. Later in time, the saint becomes associated
specifically with Catholic Ireland and synonymously with Irish national
identity. Subsequently, St. Patrick is a patriotic symbol along with the
colour green and the shamrock. St. Patrick's Day celebrations include
many traditions that are known to be relatively recent historically, but
have endured through time because of their association either with
religious or national identity. They have persisted in such a way that
they have become stalwart traditions, viewed as the strongest "Irish
traditions".